U.S. patent number 4,424,689 [Application Number 06/297,020] was granted by the patent office on 1984-01-10 for finger ring.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Takashi Saito/Iwasaki Denko Company, Ltd.. Invention is credited to Takashi Saito.
United States Patent |
4,424,689 |
Saito |
January 10, 1984 |
Finger ring
Abstract
A finger ring comprises first and second separate ring members,
each of which has a hole into which the finger can be inserted, and
is composed of a central inscribed circular main hole region whose
diameter is substantially equal to the smaller diameter of the
joint of the finger to be inserted into the ring member and a pair
of segmental supplementary hole region extending from said central
circular main hole region, and a pair of permanent magnets for
connecting the first and second ring members fitted around the
finger so that their relative movement along the finger is
prevented when the first ring member is rotated through a
prescribed angle.
Inventors: |
Saito; Takashi (Funabashi,
JP) |
Assignee: |
Takashi Saito/Iwasaki Denko
Company, Ltd. (Tokyo, JP)
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Family
ID: |
14852820 |
Appl.
No.: |
06/297,020 |
Filed: |
August 27, 1981 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
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Sep 1, 1980 [JP] |
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55-123126[U] |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
63/15.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A44C
9/0015 (20130101); A44C 9/02 (20130101); A44D
2203/00 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A44C
9/00 (20060101); A44C 9/02 (20060101); A44C
009/02 () |
Field of
Search: |
;63/15.1,15.2,15.3,15.4,15 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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580602 |
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Aug 1959 |
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CA |
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608999 |
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Nov 1960 |
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CA |
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2357054 |
|
Nov 1973 |
|
DE |
|
759302 |
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Nov 1933 |
|
FR |
|
Primary Examiner: Shay; F. Barry
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Schwartz, Jeffery, Schwaab, Mack,
Blumental & Koch
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A finger ring which comprises:
a first ring member which has a non-circular hole being composed of
a central inscribed circular main hole region whose diameter is
substantially equal to the smaller diameter of the joint of the
finger to be inserted into the ring member, and at least one
supplementary hole region extending from said central circular main
hole region;
a second, separate ring member which has a non-circular hole into
which the finger can be inserted, said hole being composed of a
central inscribed circular main hole region whose diameter is
substantially equal to the smaller diameter of the joint of the
finger to be inserted into the ring member, and at least one
supplementary hole region extending from said central circular main
hole region;
said first and second ring members insertable on said finger
independently and separately from one another; and
means for connecting the first and second ring members after they
have been individually placed around the finger so that their
relative movement along the finger lengthwise thereof is prevented,
while permitting one of said ring members to be rotated relative to
the other ring member through a prescribed angle.
2. The finger ring according to claim 1, wherein the hole of the
first ring member has the same shape as that of the second ring
member.
3. The finger ring according to claim 2, wherein the holes of the
first and second ring members have the same elliptic shape.
4. The finger ring according to claim 2, wherein the holes of the
first and second ring members have a polygonal shape.
5. The finger ring according to claim 4, wherein the holes of the
first and second ring members have a hexagonal shape.
6. The finger ring according to claim 1, wherein the hole of the
first ring member has a different shape from that of the second
ring member.
7. The finger ring according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the
first and second ring members are connected together by means of
permanent magnets provided on the adjacent and faces of said ring
members.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a finger ring adapted for use as an
ornamental or health-preserving article.
The conventional finger ring has a circular hole or inner
periphery. Difficulties sometimes arise in removing a ring from a
finger, because the finger joints frictionally contact the inner
periphery of the ring. In extreme cases, a ring can not be taken
off a finger by any means, making it necessary to cut off the ring.
Such event raises problems, particularly where the ring is
expensive.
A ring customer being fitted for a ring inserts his or her fingers
which is inserted into a ring measuring gauge and selects a ring
whose inner diameter corresponds to the measured thickness of said
finger. Where, however, a conventional ring having a circular hole
which is bought by a user happens to have an improper gauge number,
then the ring does not properly fit to the finger. In this case,
the ring may be excessively tight on the finger, or, alternately,
the ring may fit loosely around the finger, in which case the ring
tends to move about the finger. Therefore, the conventional ring
having a circular hole has the drawback that it is impossible to
obtain a perfect fit within dimensional tolerance of the ring
hole.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is accordingly the object of this invention to provide a finger
ring which is free from the above-mentioned drawbacks, can be
easily put on or taken off the finger, and assures a sufficiently
tight fit so as not to ready come off, and whose inner hole has a
dimensional latitude.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIGS. 1 to 4 show a finger ring according to one embodiment of this
invention, wherein FIG. 1 is a sectional view, FIG. 2 is a view
indicating the shape of the ring hole, FIG. 3 is an oblique view of
a ring in the process of being fitted to the finger, and FIG. 4 is
an oblique view of a ring fitted to the finger;
FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a finger ring according to one
modification of FIGS. 1 to 4; and
FIGS. 6 and 7 are plan views of ring members or components
according to other modifications of FIGS. 1 to 4.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Description is now given with reference to the accompanying
drawings of a finger ring according to one embodiment of this
invention.
A finger ring 1 of FIG. 1 comprises first and second separate ring
members or components 2, 3. These ring members 2, 3 are prepared
with the same shape from precious metals such as gold, silver or
platinum for an ornamental purpose and from permanent magnets for a
health-preserving purpose. As seen from FIG. 2, each ring member
has an elliptic hole 4, and a circular outer appearance. The
elliptic hole 4 is defined by a central inscribed circular region 5
and a pair of segmental regions 6 projecting from opposite sides of
said circular region 5. The diameter of the central circular region
5, that is, the shorter diameter a of the ellipsis is chosen to
have substantially the same measurement as the height of the joint
of the finger fitted into the ring (that is, the shorter diameter
of said joint). On the other hand, the longer diameter b of the
ellipsis defined by the central circular region 5 and both adjacent
segmental regions 6 is chosen to have the same measurement as the
width of the joint of the finger fitted into the ring (that is, the
longer diameter of said joint). The circular region 5 constitutes
the main hole portion, and both segmental regions 6 constitute the
supplementary hole portions.
Both ring members or components 2, 3 comprise means which are set
on the mutually facing sides of said ring members 2, 3 to connect
them together and restrict their relative axial movement.
These securing means are formed of permanent magnets 7, 8
respectively embedded in the adjacent end faces 2a, 3a of the ring
members 2, 3. Alternatively, one of the securing means may be a
member having a hole and the other may be a projection which is
snapped into the hole. Further, they may be fitting devices such as
retainers or hooks, which are provided on the lower portions of the
mountings of the ring members 2 and 3.
Description is now given with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4 of the
method of fitting the ring constructed as described above to the
finger and taking said ring off the finger. The first ring member 2
is moved in a direction indicated by an arrow in FIG. 3, while the
end face 2a on which a permanent magnet 7 is provided is kept at
the top. At this time, the first ring member is fitted around the
finger in such a manner that an accord is attained between the
longer diameter of the finger joint and that of the ring hole 4, as
well as between the shorter diameter of the finger joint and that
of the ring hole 4. This process enables the ring to be smoothly
fitted around the finger. Similarly, the second ring member 3 is
fitted around the finger while the end face 3a on which a permanent
magnet 8 is provided is kept at the bottom. As in the case of the
first ring member, the second ring member is fitted around the
finger in such a manner that an accord is attained between the
longer diameter of the finger joint and that of the ring hole 4, as
well as between the shorter diameter of the finger joint and that
of the ring hole 4. After fitted around the finger the second ring
member 3 is rotated through a prescribed angle about its axis to be
connected to the first ring member 2 to constitute an integral
ring, with the mutually facing permanent magnets 7, 8 (FIG. 1)
interposed therebetween. As shown in FIG. 4, therefore, the
elliptic holes 4 of the first and second ring members 2, 3 are
displaced from each other through a prescribed angle. As a result,
the effective hole area of the finger ring is equal to that
occupied by the superpose sections of both elliptic holes 4. As
seen from FIG. 2, therefore, the total area of both adjacent
segmental regions 6 is smaller than the central circular open
region 5, thereby preventing the composite ring from coming off the
finger joint.
Where the composite ring is taken off, the mutual engagement of the
first and second ring members 2, 3 by the permanent magnets 7, 8 is
released, causing the second ring member 3 to be rotated back to
the position at which said second ring member 3 began to be fitted
around the finger. At this time, the elliptic holes 4 of the first
and second ring members 2, 3 are aligned with each other, and
consequently the resultant free space substantially accords with
the sectional shape of the finger joint, thereby assuring the easy
removal of the composite ring.
With the foregoing embodiment, a finger ring was formed of two ring
members or components. However, the finger ring need not be limited
to this arrangement. The point is that the finger ring be formed of
a plurality of finger members. For instance, the finger ring may be
composed of three ring members shown in FIG. 5. In this case, a
third ring member 10 interposed between the first and second ring
members 2, 3 should be provided with a pair of engagement members
11a, 11b at opposite end faces 10a, 10b. With the embodiment of
FIG. 5, the engagement members 11a, 11b are respectively formed of
a permanent magnet, but may be prepared from any other material.
Where three ring members constituting a composite ring are
separately fited around the finger, and later one or two of the
three ring members are rotated through a prescribed angle, then the
composite ring can be prevented from coming off the finger.
With the foregoing embodiment, each ring member was provided with
an elliptic hole. However, the hole may take any other shape than a
true circle. For instance, the hole may take a polygonal or any
other somewhat ornamental shape or the hole of the first ring
member may have a different shape than that of the second ring
member.
FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate ring members whose holes have different
shapes. The hole 4 of the ring member of FIG. 6 has a regular
hexagonal shape. The hole 4 is comprised of a central inscribed
central main hole region 5 and six supplementary hole regions
projecting from the central circular main hole region 5 in the
substantial triangular form. As indicated by chain line, at least
one portion of the inner periphery of the ring member may be
bulking or receding. With the ring member of FIG. 7, the hole 4 has
a pattern shape such as a cherry blossom. This hole 4 is formed of
a central circular main region 5 and five supplementary hole
regions projecting from the central circular main hole in the form
of a petal.
With the ring members illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7, too, the
fitting of a ring around the finger or the removal of the ring
therefrom is easily effected by utilizing the supplementary hole
regions 6. Where the ring members are engaged with each other by
relative rotation, then the composite ring is prevented from coming
off the finger.
With the foregoing embodiment, a permanent magnet was applied as
means for connecting or engaging the ring members with each other.
However, this invention is not limited to this arrangement. The
means for engaging the ring members with each other well serve the
purpose, provided it prevents the relative movement of the ring
members in the direction in which the finger projects from its
base.
* * * * *